


somewhere in the in-between

by SodiumCyanide



Series: sure as any living dream [2]
Category: The Walking Dead (Telltale Video Game)
Genre: Bonding, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Gardening, Wordcount: 1.000-5.000, like a lot, the calm before the storm, with just a sprinkle of angst on top
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-29
Updated: 2018-08-29
Packaged: 2019-07-04 08:19:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,172
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15837390
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SodiumCyanide/pseuds/SodiumCyanide
Summary: Clem has helped them, helped him, pick blackberries and wintergreen and chanterelles on their supply runs or while securing their safe-zone. But she hasn’t been in the greenhouse much, at least not since it really started to come together. Louis sees her unsure posture and hesitant smile, and beckons her closer with a smile of his own.





	somewhere in the in-between

**Author's Note:**

> sequel to "the days have no numbers"

“It’s coming along well”

Louis looks up, hands still intertwined with delicate roots. With the help of the rest of the group, mostly Omar and Ruby, the greenhouse is starting to look the part again. The windows are as clean as they can be, glass panes gleaming in the sunshine; all the planters are sectioned off in groups of vegetables, herbs and spices, with root vegetables flourishing where the flooring has been broken up. Most of the plants are the remains of what had once grown in the greenhouse, before it fell into disuse – some potatoes buried deep in soil, tomatoes whose seeds were still good – but once winter has passed there will be dandelions and ramps and other things, scavenged from the woods.

Clem has helped them, helped him, pick blackberries and wintergreen and chanterelles on their supply runs or while securing their safe-zone. But she hasn’t been in the greenhouse much, at least not since it really started to come together. Louis sees her unsure posture and hesitant smile, and beckons her closer with a smile of his own.

“It is, right? Couldn’t have done it better myself – oh wait”

Clem rolls her eyes, but her shoulders soften. “Don’t get too cocky, Lou, or I’ll tell Ruby”

“You wouldn’t!”

“I would, and you know it”

“Alright, fine” Louis says, and pats the floor beside him. Clem sits down, her shoulder brushing his.

This- thing, whatever it is, between them, well. It is, and not much more than that. It’s cold hands while walking the perimeter, and this, brushing shoulders while sitting next to each other. And it’s just enough. Louis hasn’t tired of the electric spark on his skin from her touch yet, and he doubts he ever will. Besides, it’s the goddamn apocalypse. Louis knows as well as anyone that attachment is dangerous. All it takes for him to remember the price of emotion is one look at Violet.

But this is just fine, just enough. Louis finishes packing the earth around the fragile, almost wilting parsley and moves onto the hardier rosemary.

“How come you’re so good at this?”

“Hm? The gardening-schtick?”

“Yeah” Clem shifts, brushes flecks of dirt off of her jeans. “No offense, but I wouldn’t have expected it”

“Why, Clem, don’t I just look the part of an avid horticulturist?” Louis teases, but the genuine interest in Clem’s eyes makes him falter. He looks away, clears his throat and concentrates on the herb.

“Truth be told, green thumbs were a thing in my family” _Focus on the earth, Louis, and not the smell._ “My… mom was a florist. And we had a vegetable patch out the back. Grandpa was pretty into gardening, too. So, it’s in my blood, what can I say?” _Focus on the task at hand._ “And when shit went down, this was a thing I could do. Learned to weed without destroying roots at age six. There are plenty of books here, on wild herbs and edible plants, so. It’s a useful skill, keeps Omar off my back about his soups being bland” _Distraction, diversion, don’t let your throat close up._

But Clem’s perceptive. She hears walkers before anyone else does, sees where the fence needs to be patched. She places her hand on his shoulder, and it’s only then that Louis notices he’s shaking ever so slightly.

This is why he doesn’t talk about Before.

“Why’d you stop? With the greenhouse?” Clem asks quietly, and Louis sighs.

“We lost Sophie and Minnie. Before that we’d had at least relative security in numbers – there could always be people working on the school while someone else was out hunting or something. We lost two pairs of hands, and-“ _Marlon got paranoid_ , he wants to say, but he chokes on the name. So he stops at that and splits the rosemary in two.

Clem seems to understand what he means, anyway. Or maybe she doesn’t, but she rests her head on his shoulder and shares his silence, all the same.

(They used to have lavender drying in the kitchen windows. His mom used to sew little pouches and fill them with the dried flowers, and place them in the linen cabinets. His sheets here at the school smell only of mildew.)

“What’s that?”

Clem’s voice jerks him out of his head, and he sees her pointing at some green stalks in the corner.

“That’s garlic”

“Oh. I thought it was leeks”

“Nah, that’d be those over there” He points to the leeks, clustered together with the chives (for now – come spring they’ll be moved and replaced by other wild onions). “The actual garlic is underground, of course, but their sprouts can be used just as well as the cloves. Did you know that?”

“No” Clem replies, soft, smiling, and intertwines her fingers with his. “Tell me more”

And so, Louis does. He teacher her the difference between basil and oregano, coriander and parsley, and how damn hard it is not the have the epazote take over the entire herb section with how it spreads. And then he moves on to the root vegetables, the parsnips and carrots and radishes. How to make them flourish, how rewarding it was to finally dig them up, the joy of the first substantial stew. Then it’s tomatoes, beans and peas, and how they came over the seeds for the greenhouse in the first place:

There used to be a pretty substantial truck farm a few miles away, and once they realized how scare food was going to be they’d made the trip. It was still early, and they were no older than eleven, but miraculously they place hadn’t been completely raided. They’d found seeds and fertilizer and they hadn’t been able to bring everything back, obviously, but they’d made several trips. Until the place had gone up in flames, that was. But before that happened, they had managed to set up the greenhouse.

“And the rest, as they say, is history” Louis says, finishing the tale just as Clementine yawns. “Wow. I didn’t realize I was that boring, Clem”

“Shut it” Clem pokes his rib, laughing as Louis squirms. “It’s getting late, that’s why. I’m surprised AJ hasn’t been by yet”

It’s only then Louis notices how low the sun is in the sky. He’s been talking for literal hours, no wonder his throat is feeling sore.

“Guess it’s time to go bother Omar about dinner” he says, and moves as if to stand up, and Clem’s kissing him.

It’s barely a kiss, more of a peck, and it’s over almost before he realizes it’s happening. Clem squeezes his hand and kisses him again and this time, Louis responds.

“Y’know, if this is the result, I’ll make to sure to talk about gardening more often” he mumbles, afterwards. Louis’ stomach is doing somersaults and flips and other acrobatic feats he frankly didn’t know it was capable of, and even the dying sun seems that much brighter behind his closed eyelids.

Clem smiles against his lips. “I wouldn’t mind”

**Author's Note:**

> uh  
> i didn't think i'd return to this particular verse yet here we are?and now it's a whole series rip  
> also this was written in about 1 hour while listening exclusively to sufjan stevens  
> and its midnight here in sweden now so uh  
> i have roll call for uni tomorrow why am i up  
>  
> 
> edited: 30/8/18  
> any feedback is appreciates as always, cheers x


End file.
